Inua Pack

The Bygone Era of the Erium Court
(Year 0 to Year 250)
This forgotten tale began when Inua the Wolf God drew his first breath. He became known as "The Shepherd of Souls". His job was to guide the dead into the afterlife. As he toiled at his job he discovered numerous issues. When spirits gathered in large numbers on the living plane, disasters would plague the lands. His biggest worry were evil spirits that ran amuck and pulled strings in the mortal world, even going as far to possess mortal beings.

Inua called upon his creators, "I've called you here because I have some suggestions that I'd like you to think about. While most of the dead easily accept their passing the living loved ones cling onto them, making it difficult to help them cross over. I ask that you create a helper who could relay a message secretly to their loved ones, so they could let go. Furthermore, I've found that some souls want to know who they might know in the spirit plane. Having a book keeper could be very useful in those situations. Additionally it'd be helpful to keep track of the dead."

Inua shifted uncomfortably, "I've come across something very troubling. If my other suggestions aren't accepted, in the very least take this one into consideration. There are souls who have a darkness to them, and this darkness is reaching out, causing chaos and death in the mortal world. They pull the greed, and murderous intent out of the living. Most worrisome is they have starting to possess the mortals, causing them to massacre, and devour everyone they come across with no remorse. For this reason I am requesting that you give me a deity that can contain souls that demand the world to burn."

It didn't take long for Inua's creators to answer with the creation of 3 demi-gods, that would work under Inua. Thalia "Speaker of the Silenced", Bavathie "Scribe of the Dead", and Vacian "Vessel of the Damned". Inua didn't want his vassals to feel lower than him and so created the Erium High Council, which would pass or decline laws from other wolves in the Erium court. Decades would fly by and the high council would have to take many votes to better the lives of their realm. In this time of peace, unbeknownst to anyone the spirits would wear on Vacian too.

At first the deterioration was gradual, Vacian would hear whispers in the distance, and his vision would slightly dim. However, after 200 years something snapped in the demi-god. Vacian seemed to become rabid, if you caught his shape you'd see shadows growing from his form. The echoed voices of the dead commanded he save the world, he make it better, and he kill Inua. He desperately attempted to fight it. His paws moved against his will, and he found himself moving towards Inua's room no matter how much he wished he could be or go anywhere else.

By the time he reached Inua's cave Vacian's will had been withered away, and he held no consciousness except that of the millions who spoke from within. No longer was he "Vacian Vessel of the Damned", he was now "Vacian the devourer". Any wolf that crossed his path felt the wrath of his teeth, and wouldn't find their way into the afterlife, instead they joined the masses. He stared blankly into the dark entrance of the den. "Oh Vacian, I wasn't expecting you, is there something you need, or are you just stopping by for a chat?" Inua asked as he approached the opening.

Before he knew it Vacian leapt onto him viciously ripping at his flesh and fur blood being drawn. "Why?!" Inua would exclaim trying to rip himself away from the onslaught, yet there was no escape. Even with Inua being a god and Vacian just a demi-god he was powerful, unnaturally so. Not only was Inua no match physically, he could feel his own essence being drawn out of him. "Stop, please!" He'd plea with the limited strength he had left. Inua just couldn't understand what happened. Then he noticed it, that familiar smell. The realization came too late and with a quick movement Inua would fall limp, in that same moment there was a bright light and Vacian was gone. It seemed Inua didn't go out without a 'fight', the blinding light cleansing some of the darkness within the demi-god, and teleporting him far from their territory in an attempt to save lives he didn't know were already gone.

Thalia and Bavathie tried rushing to their Heralds dwelling, but along the way the horrors were splattered across the face of the walls. The gruesome scene spiraled them into shock. Vacian wasn't just slaughtering their people, he had brutally ripped them apart and strewn them across the halls. Did they even want to see what he had done to Inua? From the eerie silence they knew that the fight was already over, and knowing their lord for so long they knew even if he had seen what Vacian had done, he wouldn't of fought back. Not in a physical sense.

After what seemed like hours Thalia broke the silence. "We...we have to go, we still have a job to do." Bavathie hesitant at first slowly lowered his head to his paws, and sighed in agreement. They left the Erium Court, setting off into the unknown and haven't been seen or heard from since. If there was anyone left to remember, perhaps they'd say that when Vacian returns back to power, Thalia, and Bavathie would awaken something in the blood of the wolves, and teach them how to bring peace to their world. The Erium Court would deteriorate over time and along with it their story.

3 Centuries of Bitter Shivering
(Year 700 to Year 1000)
Nearly 5 centuries after the fall of the Erium court the world would begin to change. For 450 years wolves would pass, and their soul would become trapped among the living. The world was growing colder once vibrant greenery would die off and be replaced with blankets of deep snow. While no one knows when the first winter actually happened, most agree that the first major winter happened in year 731. Alongside the "great cooling" animals began to change growing larger with thicker coats and powerful defensive ornaments, or shrinking and living by the code of being invisible. With the lack of medium sized prey wolves from all different backgrounds and packs would struggle to support their numbers.

A noticeable change in wolf packs could be seen, while once they would group up in packs of hundreds or more, they would splinter. The new largest packs only numbering up to 30 members. This made it both easier and harder to support themselves, while they didn't have as many mouths to feed, they had less mouths to bring prey down. This would shift their diet from strictly carnivorous to omnivorous, and in very rare cases some wolves would begin fishing learning from the bears in their territory.

By year 850 winters were common, wolves had been used to the cold temperature for generations, and thankfully so, because in year 857 an unprecedented chill would spread across the globe. The thick gray snow clouds blotting the sun out, this was the first ice age and it would span from year 857 to year 977. A sunny day was a rare occasion, and in some cases wouldn't be seen in decades. This would create a moving holiday in which the wolves would howl to the sun, thanking it for gracing them with its presence and warmth. It was around this time that a long dead name would surface again, Vacian. There were only rumors of his existence and past, with the limited knowledge he would quickly become a boogieman tale for parents to tell their pups.